Self-adjusting door for an appliance

Abstract

A refrigerator appliance including a cabinet defining a chilled chamber and a first slide assembly is provided. The first slide assembly is mounted to the cabinet at least partially within the chilled chamber. The refrigerator appliance also includes a door with a frame having a first frame member rotatably attached to the first slide assembly at a first pivot joint. The door is rotatable about the lateral direction at the first pivot joint between an inwardly tilted position and an outwardly tilted position. In the inwardly tilted position the door defines an acute angle with the first slide assembly, and in the outwardly tilted position the door defines an obtuse angle with the first slide assembly. Such a configuration may allow the door to form a more complete seal with the cabinet of the refrigerator appliance despite any, e.g., surface variations of the cabinet.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present subject matter relates generally to appliances, such as refrigerator appliances, and doors for the same.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Generally, refrigerator appliances include a cabinet that defines a chilled chamber for receipt of food items for storage. The refrigerator appliance can also include storage components mounted within the chilled chamber. For example, shelves, drawers, bins, and other components can be mounted within the chilled chamber. Such components can receive food items in order to facilitate storage and / or organization of food items within the chilled chamber. In particular, certain refrigerator appliances include fresh food drawers that are configured for extending the shelf life of fresh food (e.g., vegetables, cheeses, etc.) stored therein.[0003]Refrigerator appliances generally also include a door positioned over the chilled chamber when in the closed position. In order to increase a thermal efficiency of the refri...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent describes two different refrigerator appliances that have slides and a door for accessing the chilled chamber. The first appliance has a first slide assembly and a second slide assembly, while the second appliance has a first slide assembly and a second slide assembly, but they are positioned opposite each other along the lateral direction of the refrigerator. Both appliances also have a frame with a door attached to it, allowing the door to rotate between an inwardly tilted position and an outwardly tilted position. The technical effect of these features is that the refrigerator appliance can be designed to maximize storage space and have better access to the chilled chamber through the rotating door.

Problems solved by technology

However, it is possible that the cabinet of the refrigerator appliance may have undesirable surface variations which may make it challenging for the door to form a proper seal with cabinet around chilled chamber.

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